News out of Georgia

A 2-year-old boy was mauled to death by two dogs at an unlicensed daycare while the owner was taking a nap, authorities in Georgia said.

Police in in the south Georgia city of Valdosta said they responded to a call about a child who had been attacked by dogs on Oct. 4 at about 3:45 p.m. When they arrived, they found the 2-year-old dead.

Investigators said the boy was in the care of 48-year-old Stacy Wheeler Cobb at her unlicensed daycare in her home, and was unattended for a period of over two hours while Cobb said she was taking a nap and thought the child was also napping.

The 2-year-old appears to have gotten out into the backyard and opened a kennel where two Rottweilers were being kept, allowing the dogs to get out and attack him, the Valdosta Police Department said in a statement.

Cobb was arrested and charged with murder in the second degree and cruelty to children in the second degree, both felonies, police said. Additional charges are forthcoming, police said. Jail records show Cobb is being held without bail at the Lowndes County Jail. It was not clear if she had an attorney who could speak on her behalf as of Oct. 7.

The 2-year-old was the only child in Cobb's care at the time of the attack, but she regularly watches about 10 children at her home, police said. The child's mother had dropped him off at Cobb's home earlier in the day. The victim was not identified.

The Rottweilers and a third dog at the home were taken by animal control officers, police said. Fatal dog attacks, though rare in the United States, have been sharply rising in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eighty-one people were killed by dogs in 2021 and 98 people were killed in 2022, the data shows. Each year from 2010 to 2018 saw fewer than 40 such deaths.

"This is a horrible and tragic event that should have never occurred, but because of negligence on this offender’s behalf, a mother has tragically lost a child," Valdosta Police Chief Leslie Manahan said.

Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2-year-old mauled to death by Rottweilers while daycare owner napped, police say

Reporting by Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect